Bomb on train kills 10 soldiers in India

At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured when a bomb ripped through a train in northeast India yesterday, police said.

At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured when a bomb ripped through a train in northeast India yesterday, police said.

Authorities in the troubled state of Assam blamed separatist guerrillas for the explosion, which devastated four carriages of the passenger train. A police official said: "Twenty people injured in the explosion have been rescued but the situation of four of them is critical. They have been shifted to a local hospital."

The blast hit the local train in Kamrup district about 35 miles west of the Assam state capital, Dispur. Police said the bomb was planted on the tracks, adding that they were still waiting for further details from the remote area.

Guerrillas of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) blew up the main railway track near Rangiya in the same area on Sunday morning, disrupting railway services between the landlocked region and the rest of the country. The attacks are thought to be part of a campaign in leading up to India's independence day, on 15 August.

Separatists have sabotaged oil pipelines, passenger trains and tracks and communications in Assam as well as attacking security personnel and kidnapping businessmen.

Assam is one of seven northeastern states that are home to about 200 ethnic minority groups. It has been the scene of separatist violence for more than half a century. The rebels accuse the Indian government of exploiting the area's mineral resources while neglecting its economy.